This week's best telly includes the return of Gogglebox along with some of the shows they might be watching. including series two of Starstruck, new ITVX drama You & Me, new Death in Paradise spin-off Beyond Paradise, new Channel 5 drama Desperate Measures and a new Apple TV+ travel series fronted by Eugene Levy.
Here are 6 TV shows you can't miss this week...
1. Starstruck
Saturday 18th January at 8.30pm on ITV1
After a successful first series, ITV1's new (don't mention that other show) entertainment show in which members of the public are transformed into music icons, Starstruck is back for a second series!
This time, judges Adam Lambert, Beverley Knight and Jason Manford will be joined by Queen of Country Pop, Shania Twain and Olly Murs returns as host.
Each week, contestants will undergo the ultimate ‘superstar experience’, shedding their normal personas to become global icons, all courtesy of an elite team of glam and stylists overseeing an extraordinary on-screen transformation.
1/7 Continues weekly
2. Desperate Measures
Tuesday 21st to Friday 24th February at 9pm on Channel 5
With The Catch coming to an end last week, Channel 5 are wasting no time in launching their next original. Desperate Measures stars Amanda Abbington as bank clerk Rowan, who has raised her teenage son Finn on a lawless estate whilst paying off her absent father’s debts.
In the first episode, as Rowan prepares for an appraisal at work, her teenage son Finn, played by newcomer Jesse Cescatti-McFarlane, bumps into an old school friend, Conor, who’s driving an expensive car. After encouraging Finn to come for a drive, Conor directs him to a dangerous part of town. There, he shocks Finn as he reveals a package of Class A drugs.
Finn is left sweating in the car as Conor exchanges the drugs for bundles of cash. They soon drive off, though Finn wants no part in Conor’s criminal lifestyle, and instructs him to let him out of the car. As Conor parks up, his car is surrounded by police cars. Finn escapes, but Conor’s arrested.
With the cash seized, Conor’s released and picked up by his gangster boss Kristof. Rowan returns home to Finn who admits the mess he’s in. Before Rowan can act, Kristof turns up and demands repayment for the lost cash. Rowan tries to pawn her mother’s ring when the pawn shop is raided by robbers. Running out of options, Rowan tries to flee town with Finn…
Also stars Warren Brown as Rowan's ex-partner Patrick and Sunetra Sarker as Varisha, Rowan's loyal best friend.
1-4/4 Continues nightly
3. The Reluctant Traveler
Friday 24th January on Apple TV+
Eugene Levy leads Apple TV+'s new travelogue, The Reluctant Traveller, in which the Schitt's Creek star takes the trip of a lifetime, whether he likes it or not.
Across eight episodes, Eugene will visit some of the world’s most beautiful and intriguing destinations, including Costa Rica, Finland, Italy, Japan, Maldives, Portugal, South Africa and the United States, exploring remarkable hotels and the places and cultures surrounding them.
4. You & Me
Wednesday 23rd January on ITVX
ITVX's new relationship drama You & Me has been written and created by Jamie Davis, in his screenwriting debut, and explores what it means to find love, what it means to lose love, and what it takes to try and love once again - confronting the very real struggles that can be faced in the modern world.
Harry Lawtey plays Ben, a young northerner in London who finds his life changed forever when catastrophe strikes on the happiest day of his life. Jessica Barden plays Emma, a rising theatre star who hides tragedy behind her success. And Sophia Brown plays Jess, a young woman whose life takes an unexpected turn when she’s running for a bus.
Told over two separate timelines across the three episodes, You & Me reveals, chapter by chapter, the tragedies that have shaped Ben, Emma and Jess. As the “Then” gives way to the “Now”, a chance encounter leads their lives (and their loved ones) to collide but when they find themselves offered a second chance at love, will they take it or will the past hold them back?
The series also stars Julie Hesmondhalgh as Ben's mum Linda, Andi Osho as Jess’s mum Pam, Janie Dee as Emma’s mum Hannah and Lily Newmark as Emma's sister, Joey.
1-3/3 All episodes available at launch
5. Beyond Paradise
Friday 24th January at 8pm on BBC One
With Death in Paradise such a huge hit for the BBC, it was a no-brainer to create a spin-off, and that's exactly what Beyond Paradise is. It sees Kris Marshall and Sally Bretton reprise their roles as DI Humphrey Goodman and Martha Lloyd who we last saw in 2017 when Humphrey took control of his destiny and followed Martha back to London to declare his undying love for her.
Having left London, the pair now find themselves in Shipton Abbott, Martha's hometown near the beautiful Devonshire coast. As they embark on their new life whilst temporarily living with Martha’s mum Anne Lloyd, played by Barbara Flynn, the couple are quickly thrown in at the deep end as Martha sets out to pursue her dream of running her own restaurant and Humphrey joins the local police force.
Quickly making an impression on the somewhat eclectic team; DS Esther Williams played by Zahra Ahmadi, PC Kelby Hartford played by Dylan Llewellyn and office support Margo Martins played by Felicity Montagu, Humphrey sets out to help crack a host of baffling cases, with the Shipton Abbott squad witnessing a whole new approach to police work.
Each week the team will face a new crime with a unique puzzle at its heart. The not-so-sleepy town of Shipton Abbott will be rocked by an entire family disappearing without a trace, a woman claiming she was attacked by a suspect from the seventeenth century, the robbery of a highly prized painting, a body bizarrely discovered in a crop circle and a serial arsonist with a seeming distaste for local businesses.
As Humphrey gets stuck into his new job, he and Martha must also navigate life’s ups and downs, as faces from the past, the decisions they make and the challenges of setting up life in a new town put their relationship to the ultimate test.
1/6 Continues weekly
6. Gogglebox
Friday 24th January at 9pm on Channel 4
With so much great telly around at the moment, our Gogglebox favourites won't be short of programmes to watch as the hit series returns for an incredible 21st series!